


It's Not Fair

by EphemeralScherzo



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Gen, Shippy if you Squint, The Boys Look at Their Circumstances, This Is Not The Happy Ending You're Looking For, endgame spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 10:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12187944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EphemeralScherzo/pseuds/EphemeralScherzo
Summary: "Life doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes."The Prince and his Guard look at what they've lost and what they still could lose and realize that the world doesn't care that they're the good guys.  Takes place spanning from after Altissia to the end of the game.





	It's Not Fair

It’s not fair.  

Gladio’s jaw clenches, making a muscle in his cheek twitch.  He stares out the window at the landscape on the way to Cartanica, knowing he needs to try to push past his anger and yet unable to.  Why does the prince get to mope and tune out?  Why does  _ he  _ get to refuse his duty on the premise of heartbreak?  Haven’t they all suffered?  Haven’t they all lost?  Is royal blood any more of a license than any of them have to mourn?

When news of Insomnia’s fall had found them at Galdin Quay, he’d had to bear it, even though the knowledge of the king’s death also meant the death of his own father.  Gladio’s frown deepened as he thought about Clarus, the mourning he’d had to do in private.  A loss of a parent is never easy, even knowing their duties as a Crownsguard.

He’d suffered another blow in Lestallum, with Jared’s death.  Talcott hadn’t meant to, of course, and it had taken a little effort to not blame the boy for the loss of the butler to the Amicitia family.  It was the same as losing a member of the family, the day they learned of Jared’s death.  And still, other than taking out Fort Vaullerey, Gladio couldn’t mourn.  Couldn’t let his heartbreak get in the way of what they were doing.

Why does Noctis get to refuse his duty?  

It’s not fair.

 

* * *

 

It’s not fair.  

A lifetime of service.  Sixteen years in service to the Lucis Caelum bloodline.  To the crown prince.  Sacrifice at every turn.  When is it enough?  Ignis has never begrudged his position.  It’s always been a point of pride, the part of his life that defines him.  The life of a servant to the crown is expected to be one of sacrifice.  Moreso as a Crownsguard.

But this?  This is almost too much to bear.  The loss of his eyesight wouldn’t even be the worst thing about this.  True, Ignis had prided himself on his ability to see with clarity, literally and metaphorically, but the inability to see came with handicaps they couldn’t afford.  Not here in enemy territory.

The loss of eyesight itself wasn’t the problem. No.  People lived full, fulfilling lives without it all the time.  What was too painful was the way Noctis adamantly refused to leave him behind, even if it would have made the trek into Fodina Caestino much easier.  The way Gladio pushed on, mostly ignoring him if not for using him as a battering ram against Noctis.  The way Prompto, blessed Prompto, looked out for him, catching him whenever he stumbled.  He knows that the intent was to make sure Ignis didn’t hurt himself, but all it did was make him feel like a child that needed minding.

Ignis doesn’t want to be left behind, but knows it’s a possibility.  

It’s not fair.

 

* * *

 

It’s not fair.  

Noctis knows how this ends.  Whether the daemons get him or whether he succeeds in bringing back the light, his days are numbered.  When all is said and done, when Ardyn is dead and the sun peeks over the horizon again, he and the Lucis Caelum bloodline will end.  The Nox Fleuret bloodline ended ten years ago.  Magic will leave the world.  Communion with the Astrals will end.  It’s a sobering thought what a different world it’ll be.

And he won’t get to see it.

He doesn’t bother asking how much he has to lose for the universe to be satisfied.  For one, giving his life is about all he can give.  For another, he doesn’t want to ask and tempt the universe to take the three men most important to him.  They’re all he has left, for whatever time he has left.  He’s lost his father, his homeland.  He’s lost Luna.  Because of him, Ignis lost his sight.  He nearly lost Prompto once, because he let himself be tricked.  Fully losing Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto… Would saving the world be worth it?

Of course, there’s no choice there.  Ardyn can’t be allowed to live.  The Starscourge has to be defeated and the only way is facing the forgotten son of Lucis.

He wants to see the sun.  He wants to stay with the people he loves.  And he can’t.  

It’s not fair.

 

* * *

 

It’s not fair.  

He’s alone again.  Prompto sinks to his knees, face wrought with horror as he stares at the body pinned to the throne.  The sun is blinding after ten years of darkness and all Prompto can do is stare at Noctis.  No, his corpse.

Even knowing how it was supposed to turn out, he couldn’t help hoping that maybe life was a little more like the video games he used to play with Noctis.  Looking destiny in the face and raising a middle finger.  Forging a new path instead.  That glimmer of hope that Noct could live.  But no.  Life isn’t a video game.  Sometimes you just have to take what you’re given.  Noctis knew he was going to die and he did.

An anguished scream rips through the throne room and it’s only belatedly when his throat feels raw that Prompto realizes it was his own voice he heard.  Tears stream down his face, mourning the first friend he’d ever had.  The best friend he’d ever had.

During the ten years Noct was gone, the remaining friends drifted apart.  Prompto was seized with another horrible thought, coming like a blow.  What reason did they have to stay together now?  There was no mission, no end goal anymore.  There was no danger.  They’d drift apart again with no Noctis to hold them together.

He’s going to be alone again, he just knows it.  

It’s just not fair.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this indulgent little piece of angst that wouldn't leave me alone.


End file.
